Clinton defies pressure to drop out

Hillary Clinton has vowed to continue her bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee, despite pressure for her to drop out of the race.

Mrs Clinton, who is battling against Illinois Senator Barack Obama for the nomination, said she will stick it out through the remaining primaries and until contested results for Florida and Michigan are resolved.

She said: "I know there are some people who want to shut this down, and I think they are wrong.

"I have no intention of stopping until we finish what we started, and until we see what happens in the next ten contests, and until we resolve Florida and Michigan. And if we don't resolve it, we'll resolve it at the convention."

Results for the two states were invalidated after Democrats broke party rules and held primaries in January. Mrs Clinton won both primaries, but her rival, Mr Obama, was not on the ballot in Michigan.

Mrs Clinton trails Mr Obama in the race for 2,024 Democratic nominating delegates. But she says she can still beat Mr Obama and that all Democrats should get a chance to vote.

"We cannot got forward until Florida and Michigan are taken care of, otherwise the eventual nominee will not have the legitimacy that I think will haunt us," the former First Lady said.

Some Democratic leaders want the Clinton-Obama battle resolved as soon as possible so the party's presidential nominee can focus on defeating Arizona Senator John McCain, who has already been voted as the Republican nominee in the November general election.

But Mr Obama has said he thinks Mrs Clinton should stay in the race as long as she wants.

He said: "My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants. Her name is on the ballot and she is a fierce and formidable competitor."

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